Our Services

 

Requesting Academic Assistance Accommodations (Accommodations & Services)

The Office of Accessibility Services helps students in many ways. The services granted are dependent upon our receipt of supporting documentation from you. The primary areas of assistance are as follows:

Academic Accommodation Cards/Letters (Accommodations and Services)

  • Students must provide their current semester class schedule prior to the start of the semester to accessibilityservices@jjay.cuny.edu to receive an  accommodation card/letter.
  • Students must meet with instructors to discuss the implementation of their accommodations. 

If students do not do this, it can be assumed that the student does not want to use their accommodations.  

Accessible Media

The Office of Accessibility Services coordinates with publishers and faculty members to provide eligible students with electronic files of their textbooks and instructional materials. These files are commonly referred to as e-text, and are compatible with assistive technology programs and devices used by individuals with disabilities. E-text was made possible as a result of Chapter 219 of the Education Laws of 2003, whereby publishers and other producers of instructional material are required to provide alternate format textbooks to students with disabilities. By using e-text, along with the resources found in our Access and Technology Center, students with disabilities can often increase their overall academic performance.

Students who require accessible media should submit an email request to our Assistive Technology Coordinator for each book required. Email requests should be sent to accessibilityservices@jjay.cuny.edu

Assistive Technology

The Office of Accessibility Services (OAS) provides support for the use and the provision of assistive technology in order to achieve equal access for students with disabilities. 

Peer Note Takers

Once a student is determined eligible and initiates services, our office makes every effort to recruit note takers before the semester begins. But we can only do so with your active participation in the process. The following is a list of your primary responsibilities for arranging and managing peer note-taking services:

Every semester, as soon as you register for classes, forward your new schedule of classes to accessibilityservices@jjay.cuny.edu to request a peer note taker for the upcoming semester. (a peer note taker request must be submitted prior to the semester to ensure timely recruitment.)

If a peer will be taking your notes, he or she must come to our office in suite L66, the New Building to complete paperwork to receive their stipend.

Immediately notify the office of any changes to your schedule, including course additions, withdrawals, or room changes, as well as any note taking needs.

Notify our office and your note taker at least twenty-four hours in advance if you will not be in class. (If you do not show up to class, the note taker has the right to leave after waiting 15 minutes.)

Communicate with your note taker; if you have a preferred style or if you are having trouble understanding your notes, discuss this with your note taker. He or she is there to help you succeed. (If problems persist, bring it to the attention of your specialist.) Notes are for your use only. Do not distribute them to your classmates. For more information on our peer note-taking program, please call OAS at 212-237-8031 or stop by suite L66 in the New Building and ask to speak with our note taker coordinator.

For students who are eligible for peer note-taking services, the Office of Accessibility Services recruits and pays note takers a stipend. (Interested applicants should stop by Suite L66 in the New Building).

Students with disabilities may also recruit a peer note taker—a fellow student in their same class—to take notes on their behalf. Peer note takers receive a stipend for their service. Interested peer note-takers recommended by their professors or by peers must complete and submit an application to suite L66 in the New Building.

Testing Accommodation and Services

Students who are eligible for testing accommodations during a test or a quiz, such as extended time, use of assistive technology, or a distraction-free room, should notify their professors at the beginning of the semester. The office provides the student with an accommodation card/letter, which details the services to which the student is entitled. Students must follow the OAS test accommodations policy outlined below, and take the following steps to receive this service:

  • Students must provide required documentation, which states the need for testing accommodations, to the Office of Accessibility Services in a timely manner. Documentation is then evaluated and appropriate accommodations are granted (such as extended time; use of a reader, scribe, or assistive technology; an alternative testing format; and/or a distraction-free testing environment.)
  • Students must notify their professors and request alternative testing from them at the beginning of the semester. Your accommodation card/letter will state that you are entitled to receive this service.
  • If the examination is to be proctored by the Office of Accessibility Services, the student must complete an Exam Request Form at least one week (7 days) prior to their exam.  Late submission of the exam request may result in lost accommodations.

 

Faculty may either email (accessbilityservices@jjay.cuny.edu) or hand-deliver exams to OAS in suite L66 in the New Building. Once the student has completed the exam, unless picked up by the faculty member, the completed exam will be scanned and emailed back to the faculty member.

Library Elevator Access

Students registered with OAS who regularly need to use the library elevator between the 10th Avenue entrance and the atrium level are granted library elevator access based on the documentation submitted to their Specialist during their intake meeting. 

Once documentation is approved by the Office of Accessibility Services, Public Safety is notified and access is provided by coding the student’s CUNY ID.

Screen Reader

A screen reader uses a Text-To-Speech (TTS) engine to translate on-screen information into speech, which can be heard through earphones or speakers.

Reading software records textbooks, articles and supplemental material on audio tapes or reads the material aloud in the presence of the student. 

Students who require screen reader software should submit an email request to our Assistive Technology Coordinator. Email requests should be sent to accessibilityservices@jjay.cuny.edu.

Scribes/Typists

The scribe accommodation is appropriate for students with a physical disability that severely limits or prevents the student’s motor process of writing, typing, or recording responses during testing. A scribe may administer the scribe accommodation only to one student at a time during a test session. The student must be tested in a separate setting.

Students who require a scribe will be assigned one, once they submit the exam request form.

Sign-Language Interpreters

The Office of Accessibility Services can provide eligible students who are deaf or hard of hearing with sign-language interpreters. 

During the student’s intake meeting, a Specialist will review the documentation to determine the sign-language interpreter accommodations, and will then schedule the interpreters for the classes.

Voter Registration Information

The Office of Accessibility Services is a New York State Agency-Based Voter Registration Site, where students with disabilities are offered information, voter registration application forms and the opportunity to register to vote.  We will be glad to help you fill out the form or provide assistance registering through CUNYFirst. There is no obligation to register to vote and the student's decision will have no effect on services offered by the Office of Accessibility Services.

Voter registration information and application forms are available at the website for the State Board of Elections of the State of New York (Students) 

Office of Accessibility Services
524 West 59th Street, L.66
New York City, NY 10019
Tel: 212.237.8031